The present disclosure relates to a photovoltaic module, to a method for producing a photovoltaic module, and to a device for producing a photovoltaic module.
The integration of energy converters is currently a trend in the field of electronic packagings. Solar cells especially are used alongside thermoelectric converters for obtaining electrical energy, e.g. for operating sensor modules.
In recent years the use of thin silicon substrates has furthermore become established in construction and connection technology. Said substrates afford advantages in the thermomechanical behavior, inter alia, and can be provided with through contacts and conductor tracks in a very fine pitch. Furthermore, methods for large-area encapsulation of semiconductor components are available as a result of the improvement in molding technology. In “compression molding”, areas having a diameter of 300 mm can be covered with polymeric encapsulation materials without any problems.
In principle, two ways of making contact with solar cells are possible. With regard to the cells produced the most often at the present time, contact has to be made with them from the front side and the back side, in order to establish an electrical contact (recognizable from the silver conductor structures on the front side). There are also approaches for making contact purely at the back side; these approaches are still used relatively infrequently at present. US 2011/0169554 A1 discloses an integrated solar-operated appliance.